Surviving our children-and Alaskan politics-one day at a time.

Blech.

I am dusty, dirty, sweaty and my hands hurt. A day in the life of a teacher two days before school starts. I had forgotten how much physical labor is involved with working at an elementary school. Not that every day is like this, just the first few days and the last few. I guess a few in-between, too. That’s okay, I was super lazy over the summer, so I can use the exercise.

I was a classroom teacher for 8 years before moving into the Reading Coach position at my school. I work with kids in grades K-3 and their teachers. I work to help the students who struggle the most in reading. A lot of our kids don’t speak English very well, so that’s an issue for us. We’re in a low-income area, too, so there’s not a lot of parental support. The staff is great, though, so it’s fun most of the time.

Thanks for the thanks! It’s good to know that there are people out there that don’t want all teachers fired or think that teaching is easy.

Teaching is NOT easy. I almost went into teaching myself. Then I decided I’d rather be a nurse. Funny how that happens. Oddly, one of my favorite aspects of nursing was the teaching part. Educating patients and their families on how to manage their condition and meds was really challenging and satisfying. But you, you reach a very special population that is all too often forgotten or swept under the rug.

We toured our son’s middle school yesterday and I was surprised that half my emotions/daydreams came from my DH’s teaching days in NME and the other half from my own childhood or just thinking about my son’s past school, what it will be like for him, etc. I was surprised at all the memories and feelings that came flooding back. I felt like walking in and helping DH get ready, bringing him lunch, coffee, etc. Very strange to be an “outsider” to the school. But not for long! Potentially just 1 more year til he’s back in a classroom.